


TouchStone

by bicyclefish



Category: Perception (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2014-06-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 14:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1861014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bicyclefish/pseuds/bicyclefish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miranda is gone.  Kate is engaged.  Caroline returns.</p>
            </blockquote>





	TouchStone

**Author's Note:**

> I ship Daniel and Caroline HARD – canon be damned! My idea here is that this takes place sometime early in Season Three after Miranda leaves and after Kate’s engagement. Lewicki called Caroline in this scene, I imagine, that’s why she’s there.
> 
> Just testing the waters here, to see if they would come out and play for me, and to see if anyone else is interested in reading them.

Daniel had not slept for days. He claimed to be “working”. Student papers and coffee cups were strewn all over the living room, but little work seemed to be getting done. Right now, he was huddled on one end of the couch curled in a tense ball. He pulled his sweater more tightly around himself, as if he wished it would envelop him entirely. Daniel’s feet were bare and freezing, but he couldn’t bring himself to pick the blanket up off the floor. 

He had not spoken to anyone in a long time, not even to Lewicki, who would leave tea, look at him with grave concern and regretfully walk away. Lewicki gave him the silence and the space he claimed he needed. That is why Daniel was surprised when he heard his own name whispered very softly and suddenly found there were long fingers threading through his hair.

The touch made a lump rise in his throat. He longed so greatly to lean in and give himself over to those soothing hands. But he knew better – and it made his jaw tighten. “Go away, Natalie!” he shouted, squeezing his eyes shut and pulling himself even tighter.

There was a soft sigh and an echo of perfume. He felt the cushions next to him sink down. Then there were arms around him, soft lips against his temple, and the hands again, stroking his hair and making their way, ever so gently, down his back. Then there was her voice, “Daniel, what is it? Please talk to me.”

Daniel pulled away sharply to make a cutting remark, opening his eyes as he did so. It was then that he saw Natalie several feet away across the room. She smiled at him. Looking satisfied, she turned and left the room. Daniel’s mind reeled as he turned to the woman next to him. Sitting there was Natalie – but not Natalie. “Caroline?” Her name escaped his lips in a breathless whisper of surprise.

Daniel had been fighting so hard these past few days to hold himself together, but the sudden realization that Caroline was real and actually touching him undid him. The usually carefully guarded Daniel, drew in a ragged breath and tears spilled down his face as he reached out a trembling hand to touch her - just to be completely certain she was there. 

Caroline was almost frightened by this unusual show of emotion. Her gut instinct was to protect him from it. In a moment, she was pulling at his sweater and trying to gather him into her arms. She couldn’t help but notice how much the bulk of the sweater belied how slender the man inside it had become. “Daniel, come here. It’s alright.” She tucked his head against her chest and rocked gently as Daniel sobbed.

When Daniel’s grief had breathed its last, he moved to get up. “No, stay,” Caroline said and shifted so that he might lie next to her on the couch. When he settled down beside her, it was his turn to take Caroline in his arms. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, after a while. Caroline waited a long moment, as she did, she could feel Daniel’s body begin to grow lax and heavy against her own. She couldn't help but smile, knowing his troubled mind was at peace, if only for a little while.


End file.
